Vehicle, device, computer program and method for implementation in a vehicle

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments provide a vehicle (200, 400), a device (210, 410), a computer program, and a method (100, 300) for implementation in a vehicle. The method (100) comprises receiving (110) environmental information about the vehicle's surroundings from another vehicle. Furthermore, the method (100) comprises validating (120) the environmental information to generate reliability information about the environmental information. Finally, the method (100) comprises transmitting (130) the environmental information along with the reliability information.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle, a device, a computer program and a method for implementation in a vehicle, in particular but not exclusively to a concept for a vehicle for validating environmental information of one or more other vehicles.

[0002] Communication between vehicles is playing an increasingly important role, especially in autonomous or partially autonomous vehicles. The communication of messages and reports helps such vehicles, for example, to correctly and / or promptly detect and respond to situations in their surroundings. The communication, messages, and reports may be subject to the risk of misuse, misrecognition, and unauthorized intervention (e.g., hacking).

[0003] Document DE 10 2004 017 602 A1 proposes a method for establishing trust in communication between vehicles in a communication network with direct vehicle-to-vehicle communication. A receiving vehicle receives communication signals from a sending vehicle. The receiving vehicle determines or updates trust information, F1 wherein the trust information makes it possible to determine whether data sent by the sending vehicle is trustworthy and / or how trustworthy data sent by the sending vehicle is. The receiving vehicle makes the trust information available for further vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

[0004] Document DE 10 2011 083 039 A1 relates to a concept for operating a vehicle with a driver assistance system for providing a driver assistance function and a controller for controlling the driver assistance system based on vehicle environment data and a quality factor associated with the vehicle environment data. The quality factor is determined by an external control server based on aggregated data from several other vehicles.

[0005] Document DE 10 2013 225 563 A1 relates to a concept for monitoring at least one sensor of a vehicle equipped with wireless communication means. This concept is characterized by the fact that measured values of the at least one sensor are compared with measured values of at least one comparison vehicle using the wireless communication means.

[0006] Document DE 10 2015 219 933 A1 refers to a concept for verifying the plausibility of measured values from a mobile device. This concept stipulates that the mobile device's sensors generate at least one measured value, receive at least two pieces of information relating to the at least one measured value via a communications service, and verify the plausibility of the at least one measured value based on the at least two pieces of information.

[0007] Document DE 10 2020 104 357 A1 proposes a concept in which a vehicle is informed about a misbehaviour of another vehicle, whereupon the vehicle sends a driving behaviour report (MBR) to another vehicle.

[0008] It is noticeable that the previous concepts only offer a check of the vehicle's own sensors, but no possibility to check communication (e.g. comprehensive messages and reports) between vehicles.

[0009] There is therefore a need for an improved concept for verifying vehicle communication. The subject matter of the pending independent claims addresses this need.

[0010] Embodiments are based on the core idea that a vehicle can check environmental information received from another vehicle for its validity / reliability and return it, along with information about the validity / reliability, to the other vehicle and / or forward it to one or more additional vehicles. This allows vehicles receiving the reliability information to assess the credibility of the environmental information. Iterative and / or multiple validation of the same environmental information by multiple vehicles within the fleet or a "swarm" of vehicles allows for greater credibility of the reliability information, as explained in more detail later. The concept proposed herein can therefore also be understood as a "swarm validation" concept.

[0011] Embodiments provide a method for implementation in a vehicle. The method comprises receiving environmental information about the environment of the vehicle from another vehicle. Furthermore, the method comprises validating the environmental information to generate reliability information about the environmental information, wherein the validation comprises comparing the environmental information with sensor data from at least one sensor of the vehicle. The method further comprises receiving information about a sensor type of at least one sensor with which the environmental information from the other vehicle was determined, and selecting another sensor type based on the information about the sensor type to compare the environmental information with the sensor data of the other sensor type. Furthermore, the method comprises transmitting the environmental information with the reliability information.

[0012] This allows, for example, one or more vehicles receiving the environmental information with the reliability information to assess the credibility / validity / plausibility of the environmental information based on the reliability information, for example, to consider it as valid or invalid, and to consider or ignore it accordingly. Influences from misdetections or unauthorized influences on the control of the one or more vehicles receiving the reliability information can at least be reduced in this way. For example, erroneous or false messages / reports can be detected during validation and, based on the corresponding reliability information, considered invalid by the one or more vehicles.This means that erroneous or false messages / reports, for example, from one or more vehicles, are given less or no consideration during control compared to messages / reports considered valid. This at least reduces the impact of erroneous or false messages / reports.

[0013] In some embodiments, the environmental information includes environmental measurement data, interpreted measurement data, and / or user input.

[0014] According to the method, reliability information about the measurement data, the interpreted measurement data, and / or the user input can be generated during validation and transmitted along with the measurement data, the interpreted measurement data, and / or the user input. This allows one or more vehicles to evaluate the measurement data, the interpreted measurement data, and / or the user input based on the reliability information.

[0015] In some embodiments, the environmental information and the reliability information are embedded in a message containing control information and payload information. The environmental information can be associated with the payload information, and the reliability information can be associated with the control information. The control information can have an identifier associated with the message.

[0016] The identifier allows the message to be identified and assigned. Particularly when the method proposed here is used in multiple vehicles within a fleet, this can prevent, for example, a vehicle in the fleet from validating the environmental information multiple times and / or more frequently than desired.

[0017] In some embodiments, validating comprises comparing the environmental information with sensor data from at least one sensor of the vehicle and / or validating the environmental information based on a user input.

[0018] For example, the vehicle is factory-equipped with the sensor for autonomous driving. The sensor data can be compared with the environmental information for validation by machine. A validation result, such as reliability information, can depend on deviations between the sensor data and the environmental information. Validation using the sensor data can be performed by machine. Thus, validation using the sensor data allows, for example, automatic or machine-based validation of the environmental information.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving information about a sensor type of at least one sensor with which the environmental information from the other vehicle was determined, and selecting another sensor type based on the information about the sensor type for comparing the environmental information with the sensor data of the other sensor type.

[0020] This can at least reduce the impact of systematic measurement inaccuracies of one or the other sensor type on the validation. As the expert will understand, this can increase the reliability / credibility of the validation.

[0021] In some embodiments, receiving environmental information comprises receiving first reliability information about the environmental information from another vehicle, validating the environmental information comprises generating second reliability information based on the first reliability information, and transmitting the environmental information with the reliability information comprises transmitting the second reliability information.

[0022] The first reliability information is generated and transmitted by the other vehicle, for example, according to the method proposed here. The second reliability information, which is based on a number of validations, can have a higher credibility or trustworthiness than reliability information based on a smaller number of validations. The second reliability information, for example, has a higher credibility than the first reliability information. Due to a number / multiplicity of validations, abusive interference with communication between vehicles is detected with a higher probability, for example, and classified as invalid based on the reliability information resulting from the number of validations.

[0023] Further embodiments provide a method for a vehicle. The method comprises obtaining environmental information about the environment of the vehicle. Furthermore, the method comprises sending the environmental information to at least one other vehicle for validation of the environmental information by the other vehicle and generating reliability information about the environmental information. Furthermore, the method comprises receiving the reliability information from the other vehicle.

[0024] Reliability information can be understood as feedback from the other vehicle regarding the environmental information. This allows the vehicle to assess the reliability or credibility of the environmental information it receives based on the reliability information. Depending on the reliability or credibility of the environmental information, the environmental information can influence the vehicle's control or be ignored by the vehicle. This allows, for example, the impact of unauthorized interference with communication between vehicles, for example, by distributing false environmental information, to be at least reduced.

[0025] Further embodiments provide a computer program with a program code for performing one of the methods proposed herein when the program code is executed on a computer, a processor, a data processing circuit, a control module or a programmable hardware component.

[0026] Further embodiments provide a device for a vehicle. The device comprises one or more communication interfaces and a data processing circuit for implementing one of the methods proposed herein.

[0027] Further embodiments provide a vehicle comprising the device proposed herein.

[0028] Further advantageous embodiments are described in more detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, to which embodiments, however, are generally not limited. They show: Fig. 1 a block diagram of a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for implementation in a vehicle; Fig. 2 a block diagram of an embodiment of a device for a vehicle; Fig. 3 a block diagram of a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for a vehicle; Fig. 4 a block diagram of an embodiment of a device for a vehicle; and Fig. 5a, 5b , 5c und 5d an example scenario of communication between vehicles.

[0029] Various embodiments will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some embodiments are illustrated. Optional features or components are shown in dashed lines.

[0030] Although embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and variations, embodiments are illustrated in the figures as examples and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that embodiments are not intended to limit embodiments to the specific forms disclosed, but rather, embodiments are intended to cover all functional and / or structural modifications, equivalents, and alternatives within the scope of the invention.

[0031] Note that an element described as "connected" or "coupled" to another element may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be intervening elements. Conversely, when an element is described as "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, no intervening elements are present. Other terms used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted similarly (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent," etc.).

[0032] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," "another," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it is to be understood that terms such as "includes," "including," "has," "comprises," "comprising," and / or "having," as used herein, indicate the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0033] Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 100 for implementation in a vehicle. The method 100 includes receiving 110 environmental information about the vehicle's surroundings from another vehicle. Furthermore, the method 100 includes validating 120 the environmental information to generate reliability information about the environmental information. Furthermore, the method 100 includes transmitting 130 the environmental information with the reliability information.

[0034] Method 100 allows one or more vehicles receiving the environmental information transmitted with the reliability information to assess the credibility of the environmental information based on the reliability information. As explained in more detail later, this can reduce undesirable influences from erroneous communicated environmental information.

[0035] Environmental information includes information about a situation in the vehicle's surroundings. For example, environmental information includes one or more pieces of information about wrong-way drivers, accidents, so-called "breakdowns," construction sites, people on the road, an obstacle, fire, weather events (slippery conditions / friction coefficient, fog, storms, etc.), road flooding, aquaplaning, and / or similar.

[0036] In particular, the environmental information can include measurement data from the environment and / or interpreted measurement data. The measurement data is, for example, sensor data recorded and transmitted by one or more sensors or a sensor system of another vehicle and / or infrastructure. Examples of such sensors are lidar sensors, radar sensors, time-of-flight (TOF) cameras, image and / or video cameras. Accordingly, the measurement data can contain image data, a so-called "point cloud," and / or distance values to one or more objects in the environment. The interpreted measurement data contains, for example, information about objects and / or a situation in the environment obtained from such "raw" measurement data through further processing and / or interpretation.For example, the interpreted measurement data contains information about the position, shape, speed, acceleration, size, trajectory, and / or the like of objects, road users, and / or vehicles. The interpreted measurement data includes, for example, a cooperative awareness message (CAM), a collective perception message (CPM), a decentralized environmental notification message (DENM), a signal phase and timing (SPaT), and / or a message with information about hazards, objects, the situation, the weather, and / or road conditions in the surrounding area.

[0037] The environmental information can optionally include at least one user input. The user input includes, for example, information about a control command (e.g., a steering angle, a pedal operation, a voice input, an input via a control panel, and / or the like). The user input can indicate a specific situation in the environment. For example, an emergency braking by a driver indicates a dangerous situation. Such an interpretation of an immediate user input, such as the emergency braking in this case, can also be understood as user input.

[0038] As one skilled in the art will understand, the other vehicle can transmit the environmental information and receive 110 the environmental information using various concepts and corresponding means for inter-vehicle communication. The communication (the transmitting and receiving 110) occurs, for example, via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or car-to-car (C2C) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) or car-to-infrastructure (C2I) communication, and / or vehicle-to-anything (V2X) or car-to-anything (C2X) communication. Corresponding means for receiving 110 comprise, for example, an interface for dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) and / or for communication via the mobile radio network (for example a third generation partnership project).: 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP) interface, such as a PC5 interface).

[0039] Validating 120 the environmental information can be understood as checking the environmental information for its reliability, plausibility or credibility.

[0040] Validation 120 includes, for example, comparing the environmental information with sensor data from at least one sensor of the vehicle and / or validating the environmental information based on a user input.

[0041] Optionally, the vehicle can be equipped with multiple sensors. Accordingly, the sensor data can contain measurement data from multiple sensors. The vehicle can be factory-equipped for autonomous driving with at least one sensor, which serves, for example, to detect the environment for autonomous driving. The sensor data can accordingly be data that serves, in particular, to detect the environment for autonomous driving. The one or more sensors include, for example, a lidar sensor, a radar sensor, a TOF camera, an image camera, a video camera, an ultrasonic sensor, and / or the like. Optionally, the one or more sensors include at least one rain sensor, a temperature sensor, a tire speed sensor, a G-force sensor, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) sensor, an airbag sensor, and / or the like.The sensor data can accordingly contain information about the weather and / or the road surface conditions in the surroundings and / or about a speed and / or acceleration of the vehicle. Optionally, the sensor data can be processed and / or interpreted for better comparability with the environmental information. Optionally, the environmental information can be processed and / or interpreted for better comparability with the sensor data. Validation 120 provides, for example, for a comparison of shapes, sizes and / or positions for the same object in the surroundings resulting from the sensor data and the environmental information. Before validation using the sensor data, a simpler plausibility check can take place. Sensor data which indicates an implausible situation (e.g.Vehicles that indicate a wrong-way driver on non-separated lanes can be disqualified from validation, and only plausible sensor data can be used for validation. Map data from a navigation system, for example, can be used as a basis for such a plausibility check. Optionally, the result of such a plausibility check can be used as an input for validation with the sensor data, e.g., as a weighting and / or to adjust threshold values.

[0042] The user input for validating the environmental information includes, for example, information about a control command (e.g., a steering angle, an operation of a pedal, a voice input, an input via a control panel, and / or the like). The user input can indicate a specific situation in the environment. Braking by a driver of the vehicle, for example, indicates an impending obstacle or a vehicle ahead. Optionally, the user input includes an input to a query and / or a (visual) representation of the environmental information. The environmental information indicates, for example, that a vehicle ahead is decelerating. The environmental information about the vehicle ahead is confirmed or refuted, for example, depending on an application of a brake of the vehicle and / or an input to a query directed to an occupant of the vehicle as to whether the vehicle ahead is decelerating.

[0043] Optionally, information determined and received from a traffic infrastructure can be used to validate the environmental information. Such traffic infrastructure includes, for example, networked traffic control systems or elements equipped for communication via V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC and / or 3GPP (e.g., traffic lights). Repeated validation using information received from traffic infrastructure elements allows the determination of a rate with which the environmental information was assessed as valid or invalid when validated with this information. This rate can be used in subsequent validations using this traffic infrastructure element as a weighting of the information received from this infrastructure element. The weighting allows the credibility of subsequent validations using this traffic infrastructure element to be assessed.

[0044] Optionally, information (e.g. weather data or satellite images) from other data sources (e.g. weather stations, Internet) can be used for validation.

[0045] Optionally, the environmental information can be validated using other communicated environmental information received by the vehicle at a different time, at a different location, and / or under the same weather conditions. For example, the environmental information can be compared with such other environmental information for validation. For such a comparison, artificial intelligence in the form of a neural network trained with a plurality of environmental information items as training data can be used, for example.

[0046] For example, reliability information is generated based on a validation result. Reliability information can be understood as a measure of the accuracy and / or credibility / validity / plausibility of the environmental information. The reliability information includes, for example, a (unitless) numerical value, a counting variable, a binary value (e.g., with the possible states: valid and invalid), a probability value, and / or an error value to indicate the credibility / validity / plausibility and / or the accuracy or inaccuracy of the environmental information. Based on the binary value or a threshold comparison of the error value, the probability value, the counting variable, and / or the numerical value, the environmental information can be classified by the one or more vehicles receiving the reliability information.For example, a classification of the credibility / validity / plausibility of the environmental information in the reliability information includes at least the following classes: invalid and valid. The classification may preferably include further gradations or weightings.

[0047] The vehicle can react to the environmental information itself. The vehicle's reaction may depend on a validation result. For example, the environmental information will only be displayed to a vehicle user if it is considered valid, and / or will only lead to driving interventions based on the environmental information if it is considered valid.

[0048] The transmission 130 of the environmental information with the reliability information occurs, for example, via at least one of the above-mentioned concepts (V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC, 3GPP) for communication between vehicles and corresponding means / interfaces of this concept or these concepts. This allows the environmental information to be provided together with the reliability information to one or more other vehicles for assessment of the environmental information based on the reliability information by the one or more other vehicles. Among the one or more other vehicles can be the (other) vehicle from which the environmental information originates. In this way, this vehicle receives feedback about the environmental information that is useful, for example, for sensor calibration and / or sensor validation.

[0049] For example, the environmental information is transmitted together with the reliability information in a common data structure to facilitate the association of the reliability information with the environmental information by vehicles that receive the environmental information along with the reliability information. As one skilled in the art will understand, this can also reduce the load on a communication path via which the environmental information and the reliability information are communicated.

[0050] The transmission 130 can be dependent on the validation 120 of the environmental information and, for example, only occur if the environmental information is classified as valid based on the validation and / or the reliability information 120. As those skilled in the art will understand, this results in the advantage that the dissemination of false, erroneous, and / or invalid environmental information can be prevented. For example, a digital key required for further distribution of the environmental information is only obtained from an external server / backend if the environmental information is classified as valid based on the validation and / or the reliability information 120. This makes it possible to technically prevent the dissemination of unverified messages and prevent misuse and / or hacking.

[0051] The method 100 enables the vehicles / receiver vehicles that receive the environmental information with the reliability information to assess the accuracy and / or credibility / validity / plausibility of the environmental information based on the reliability information. The environmental information is taken into account, for example, in controlling the receiver vehicles according to a weighting based on the reliability information. The method 100 allows the receiver vehicles, for example, to weight environmental information considered credible / valid / plausible higher than environmental information considered non-credible / valid / plausible, such as false or erroneous messages / reports. In this way, the undesired influence of these messages / reports can be reduced.

[0052] Optionally, method 100 includes receiving information about a sensor type of at least one sensor with which the environmental information from the other vehicle was determined. Furthermore, method 100 may include selecting another sensor type based on the information about the sensor type for comparing the environmental information with the sensor data of the other sensor type.

[0053] This can at least reduce the impact of systematic measurement inaccuracies of one or the other sensor type on the validation. Thus, the reliability of the validation can be increased.

[0054] Information about the sensor type is received, for example, using the concepts already mentioned (V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC, 3GPP) and corresponding means / interfaces. Preferably, information about the sensor type is received via the same interface used for receiving environmental information.

[0055] It should be noted that the method 100 can optionally be performed iteratively and / or for environmental information from multiple other vehicles. As explained in more detail later, this allows, for example, a multiple consecutive validation of the environmental information according to the method and the generation of a cumulative value for the reliability information based on the multiple validations.

[0056] The method proposed herein is carried out, for example, by a device mounted on the vehicle.

[0057] Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a device 210 for a vehicle 200.

[0058] The device 210 comprises one or more interfaces 212 for communication. Furthermore, the device 210 comprises a data processing circuit 214 for executing the method 100.

[0059] To execute method 100, data processing circuit 214 can receive environmental information about the surroundings of vehicle 200 from another vehicle via one or more interfaces 212. According to the method, data processing circuit 214 can further validate the environmental information to generate reliability information about the environmental information, as described above, for example, using sensor data and / or user input. Furthermore, data processing circuit 214 can transmit the environmental information with the reliability information via one or more interfaces 212.

[0060] The one or more interfaces 212 of the device 210 can, in exemplary embodiments, include contacts to the data processing circuit 214. In exemplary embodiments, they can also be embodied as separate hardware. They can include memories that at least temporarily store the signals to be transmitted or the received signals. The one or more interfaces 212 can be designed to receive electrical signals, for example, as a bus interface or as an optical interface. In exemplary embodiments, they can also be designed for radio transmission and include a radio front end and associated antennas. Furthermore, the one or more interfaces 212 can include synchronization mechanisms for synchronizing with the respective transmission medium, for example, for the CAN bus (CAN = Controller Area Network).In exemplary embodiments, the one or more interfaces 212 can be configured to communicate with other vehicles via V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC, and / or 3GPP for receiving 110 and transmitting 130. Furthermore, the one or more interfaces 212 can include at least one interface to a sensor of the vehicle 200 to enable the data processing circuit 214 to receive sensor data from the sensor for validation.

[0061] In exemplary embodiments, the data processing circuit 214 can be hardware configured to carry out one of the methods described herein. These can be any processor cores, such as digital signal processor cores (DSPs) or other processors. Exemplary embodiments are not limited to a specific type of processor core. Any processor cores or even multiple processor cores or microcontrollers are conceivable for implementing the data processing circuit 214. Implementations in integrated form with other devices are also conceivable, for example, in a control unit for a vehicle, which additionally includes one or more other functions.In embodiments, the data processing circuit 214 can be implemented by a processor core, a computer processor core (CPU = Central Processing Unit), a graphics processor core (GPU = Graphics Processing Unit), an application-specific integrated circuit core (ASIC = Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), an integrated circuit (IC = Integrated Circuit), a single-chip system core (SOC = System on Chip), a programmable logic element or a field-programmable gate array with a microprocessor (FPGA = Field Programmable Gate Array) as the core of the above-mentioned component or components. The data processing circuit 214 can therefore correspond to any component that can mechanically receive the environmental information, validate it to generate the reliability information and transmit it with the reliability information.

[0062] As previously described, the environmental information with the reliability information can be received in particular by the vehicle from which the environmental information was transmitted for validation or which transmitted the environmental information for validation. Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 300 for such a vehicle.

[0063] Method 300 includes obtaining 310 environmental information about the vehicle's surroundings. Method 300 also includes sending 320 the environmental information to at least one other vehicle for validation of the environmental information by the other vehicle and generation of reliability information about the environmental information. Method 300 also includes receiving 330 the reliability information from the other vehicle. Optionally, the vehicle can also receive the environmental information from the other vehicle.

[0064] Obtaining 310 the environmental information about the surroundings of the vehicle comprises, for example, sensory sensing of the environmental information about the surroundings using one or more sensors (including, for example, a lidar sensor, a radar sensor, a TOF camera, an image camera, a video camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a rain sensor, a temperature sensor, a tire speed sensor, a G-force sensor, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) sensor, and / or the like). Alternatively or additionally, obtaining 310 comprises receiving the environmental information. The vehicle can receive the environmental information, for example, using at least one of the concepts described herein (V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC, 3GPP) and corresponding means / interfaces from one or more other vehicles and / or a traffic infrastructure.

[0065] Using at least one of these concepts (V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC, 3GPP), the environmental information or the reliability information is transmitted 320 and received 330, for example. Validation is performed, for example, as explained in connection with method 100, on the at least one other vehicle that receives the environmental information for validation.

[0066] As already explained in connection with method 100, the received reliability information allows the vehicle receiving the reliability information to assess the credibility / validity / plausibility of the environmental information based on the reliability information. Furthermore, the reliability information allows the vehicle to perform sensor validation of the one or more sensors used to determine the environmental information.

[0067] Optionally, method 300 includes transmitting information about a sensor type of at least one sensor with which the environmental information from the other vehicle was determined. This allows the other vehicle to select a different sensor type based on the information about the sensor type for validating / comparing the environmental information with the sensor data of the other sensor type.

[0068] It should be noted that the method 300 may optionally be performed iteratively, multiple times, by interacting with multiple other vehicles and / or for additional environmental information.

[0069] The method 300 proposed herein is carried out, for example, by a device mounted on the vehicle.

[0070] Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a device 410 for a vehicle 400.

[0071] The device 410 comprises one or more interfaces 412 for communication. Furthermore, the device 410 comprises a data processing circuit 414 for carrying out the method 300.

[0072] To carry out method 300, data processing circuit 414 can obtain environmental information about the vehicle's surroundings via one or more interfaces 412. Furthermore, data processing circuit 414 can send the environmental information to the at least one other vehicle for validation via one or more interfaces 412 and receive the reliability information from the at least one other vehicle.

[0073] The one or more interfaces 412 of the device 410 can, in exemplary embodiments, include contacts to the data processing circuit 414. In exemplary embodiments, they can be embodied as separate hardware. They can include memories that at least temporarily store the signals to be transmitted or the received signals. The one or more interfaces 412 can be designed to receive electrical signals, for example, as a bus interface or as an optical interface. In exemplary embodiments, they can also be designed for radio transmission and include a radio front end and associated antennas. Furthermore, the one or more interfaces 412 can include synchronization mechanisms for synchronizing with the respective transmission medium, for example, for the CAN bus (CAN = Controller Area Network).In embodiments, the one or more interfaces 412 may be configured to communicate with other vehicles for transmitting 320 and receiving 330 via V2V, V2I, V2X, DSRC and / or 3GPP.

[0074] In exemplary embodiments, the data processing circuit 414 may be hardware configured to carry out one of the methods described herein. These may be any processor cores, such as digital signal processor cores (DSPs) or other processors. Exemplary embodiments are not limited to a specific type of processor core. Any processor cores or even multiple processor cores or microcontrollers are conceivable for implementing the data processing circuit 414. Implementations in integrated form with other devices are also conceivable, for example, in a control unit for a vehicle, which additionally includes one or more other functions.In embodiments, the data processing circuit 414 can be implemented by a processor core, a computer processor core (CPU = Central Processing Unit), a graphics processor core (GPU = Graphics Processing Unit), an application-specific integrated circuit core (ASIC = Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), an integrated circuit (IC = Integrated Circuit), a single-chip system core (SOC = System on Chip), a programmable logic element or a field-programmable gate array with a microprocessor (FPGA = Field Programmable Gate Array) as the core of the above-mentioned component or components. The data processing circuit 414 can therefore correspond to any component that can mechanically obtain the environmental information, send it out for validation and receive the reliability information.

[0075] In other words, the explained methods 100 and 300 and devices 200 and 400 create a concept for validating state, object, or situation detection in networked traffic. The methods 100 and 300 and the devices 200 and 400 can interact in some application examples. In concrete application examples of the concept, a message / report (environmental information) transmitted by a vehicle about a specific situation can be validated by sensors and / or user inputs from one or more other vehicles in networked traffic before it is used within networked traffic for control purposes, for example, to determine driving interventions. In networked traffic, a distinction can be made based on the availability of reliability information as to whether a report still needs to be validated or has already been validated.According to the concept proposed here, vehicles in networked traffic, and possibly an external server / backend connected to the vehicles, can be provided with reliability information about the reliability of the surrounding information in addition to vehicle messages containing environmental information. A message that has not yet been validated can only be verified by sensors on the vehicle receiving the message or by querying user input before a driving intervention occurs. If confirmed, the message can be distributed as verified, allowing other vehicles to react to it without prior validation of the environmental information. The concept can, in particular, protect against the misrecognition of hazardous situations as well as against deliberate malicious / unwanted interventions in networked traffic, for example, using corrupted data.

[0076] Fig. 5a, 5b , 5c und 5d show an exemplary scenario of communication between vehicles, on the basis of which an application example of the methods 100 and 300, as well as the devices 210 and 410, will be described in more detail.

[0077] Fig. 5a shows schematically the vehicle 200, the vehicle 400 and a vehicle 500.

[0078] If, for example, a specific situation is detected by vehicle 400, vehicle 400 transmits the environmental information by means of device 410 according to method 300. For example, vehicle 400 transmits the environmental information embedded in a data structure, in this case a message 402 with control information and payload information, to vehicle 200 and vehicle 500. The environmental information can be assigned to the payload. For a description of subsequent exemplary embodiments, the environmental information and the payload can therefore be understood as synonyms. However, it should be noted that the payload can contain additional information in addition to the environmental information. The message can in particular be embodied as a bit sequence. The control information and the payload differ, for example, in their position within the bit sequence.

[0079] Vehicle 200, along with vehicle 500, receives the environmental information with message 402 using device 210 according to method 100 and validates the environmental information to generate the reliability information. During validation, vehicle 200 checks, for example, the environmental information in message 402, which indicates, for example, "Wrong-way driver detected." Using sensors and / or a query to a driver or passenger of vehicle 200, the environmental information about the wrong-way driver can be confirmed or refuted.

[0080] Furthermore, vehicle 200 transmits the environmental information with the reliability information according to the method. For example, vehicle 200 transmits the environmental information and the reliability information together embedded in a message 202 to vehicle 400 and vehicle 500. Message 202, for example, also includes control information and payload information. Reliability information can be assigned to the control information, and environmental information can be assigned to the payload information.

[0081] Vehicles 400 and 500 can use the reliability information in message 202 to assess whether the environmental information "wrong-way driver detected" is valid or not. Depending on an indication of the credibility / validity / plausibility of this environmental information in the reliability information, vehicles 400 and / or 500 can assess the credibility / validity / plausibility based on the reliability information and take the environmental information into account accordingly when controlling vehicles 400 and / or 500. For example, vehicle 200 confirms the indication "wrong-way driver detected" during validation. Accordingly, the reliability information indicates that the indication is valid. Therefore, vehicles 400 and 500 assess the environmental information "wrong-way driver detected" as valid, for example, based on the reliability information.Accordingly, driving interventions, such as braking and / or evasive maneuvers, can be performed on vehicles 400 and 500 based on the environmental information "Wrong-way driver detected" assessed as valid. If the environmental information "Wrong-way driver detected" is refuted during validation and vehicles 400 and 500 do not assess the environmental information "Wrong-way driver detected" as valid based on the corresponding reliability information, driving interventions in response to the environmental information "Wrong-way driver detected" can be omitted.

[0082] The control information of messages 202 and 402 can each include an identifier. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, taking the identifier into account can prevent unwanted multiple validation of the environmental information by the same vehicle.

[0083] In particular, messages 202 and 402 can have the same identifier, for example, by vehicle 200 adopting the identifier of message 402 for message 202 or adding the reliability information to message 202 to generate message 402. The same identifier allows for greater efficiency when reading messages 202 and 402. For example, if vehicle 400 and vehicle 500 determine that messages 202 and 402 have the same identifier, they can read only the control information, including the reliability information, from message 202 and only the payload information from message 402. This eliminates, for example, the need to read the entire message 202 and the entire message 402.

[0084] How Fig. 5b shows, the environmental information can contain information about an object 510 in the environment, and the validation of the environmental information can be carried out, for example, using sensor data about the object 510 that was detected by the vehicle 200. The object is, for example, a moving object (for example, a vehicle or a pedestrian) or a stationary object (for example, an obstacle). In particular, a relative position of the vehicles 200 and 400 can be taken into account during the validation. In the present example, the environmental information indicates, for example, a shape 514 detected by the sensor of the vehicle 400, and the sensor data indicates a shape 512 of the object 510 that is different from the shape 514 due to their relative position and therefore different perspectives of the vehicles 200 and 400.For validation purposes, it can be checked whether it is plausible that shapes 512 and 514 depict the same object, in this case object 510, taking into account the different perspectives of vehicles 200 and 400. As one skilled in the art will understand, this can be checked mechanically, for example, based on identical features in the sensor data and the environmental information and / or by applying a coordinate transformation to the sensor data and / or the environmental information. For example, consider: Vehicle 400 reports object 510 with shape 514 and a first position (relative to vehicle 400) via the environmental information. Now, for example, using a coordinate transformation, it can be determined in which shape and at what distance the same object 510 would have to be recognized by vehicle 200 and compared, for example, with shape 512. The sensor data from 200 can be retrieved and evaluated.This determines, for example, whether an object detection by vehicle 400 is valid. To enable such validation, or coordinate transformation, vehicle 400 can transmit its own position to vehicle 200 along with the environmental information.

[0085] In some cases, in addition to the environmental information, vehicle 200 may also receive first reliability information about the environmental information from another vehicle, such as vehicle 400 or 500. This is the case, for example, if the environmental information was validated by a vehicle other than vehicle 200. In such cases, validating the environmental information may include generating second reliability information based on the first reliability information and transmitting the second reliability information.

[0086] The first reliability information is embedded, for example, in message 402. To generate message 202, vehicle 200, for example, accepts message 402 and, in particular, changes the first reliability information to the second reliability information.

[0087] Fig. 5c shows an example of a possible format for the messages 202 and 402. As can be seen from Fig. 5c As can be seen, the messages 202 and 402 are implemented as a bit sequence and contain, for example, an identifier ID (English: identifier), a counter variable VC for the validity (English: validity counter) and a payload M (English: payload). The counter variable VC, for example, represents the reliability information. The identifier ID, the counter variable VC and the payload M can have different areas within the bit sequence. The identifier ID, for example, is located before the counter variable VC within the bit sequence. The counter variable VC is followed by the payload M within the bit sequence. The communication between the vehicles 200, 400 and 500 will be described below with regard to Fig. 5a This can be illustrated using an example: Message 402, for example, has the identifier ID: "1234" and is sent by vehicle 400 with the counting variable VC equal to "00." This counting variable VC indicates, for example, that the environmental information in the payload M has not yet been validated and can be viewed as the first piece of reliability information. After validation by vehicle 200, vehicle 200 accepts message 402 with the unchanged identifier "1234" and payload M to generate message 202. If the credibility / validity / plausibility, or the environmental information, could be confirmed during validation, changes it to VC equal to "01" and sends message 402 to vehicles 400 and 500. If the environmental information is refuted, the counting variable is decremented by 1. The "new" counting variable VC equal to "01" can be seen as a second reliability information.Vehicles, such as vehicle 500, that have already received and decoded message 402 only need to receive and decode the part of message 202 up to the counting variable VC and can accept the rest of message 202 and the payload M of message 402 that vehicle 500 has already received as validated.

[0088] Within a fleet of several vehicles, this method can be carried out multiple times, for example on several vehicles. The environmental information can be passed on as payload M of further messages with the same identifier ID to several vehicles one after the other. In this case, further validations of the environmental information can take place on the several vehicles and thus further changes to the counting variable VC. The more vehicles validate and forward the payload M, the higher the counting variable VC can rise. Before the payload M is forwarded, for example, the highest count value received so far is changed by one (incremented or reduced). It should be noted that in some embodiments, the counting variable VC can be changed by different values depending on the certainty of the validation.For example, validation of the environmental information by a user can lead to a change in the count value by 10, validation of the environmental information using sensor data from multiple sensors can lead to a change in the count variable VC by 5, and validation using sensor data from a single sensor can lead to a change in the count variable VC by 1.

[0089] It should be noted that in some embodiments, depending on the result of the validation, the count variable may be changed in a different way.

[0090] As in Fig. 5d As shown, messages 202 and 402 may have a different format. Fig. 5dThe format shown, for example, has a bit sequence which, in addition to the identifier ID within the bit sequence between the counting variable VC and the payload M, includes information B about a validation of the environmental information or the payload M by an external server / backend connected to the vehicle 200 and / or 400, information CF (so-called "ChangeFlag") about a subsequent change to the payload M, information P1 about a position of a sensor by means of which the environmental information was generated, and information P2 about a position of one or more objects about which information is contained in the environmental information, for example the object 510.

[0091] The CF information is inserted, for example, if the environmental information has been adjusted and / or clarified within a predetermined tolerance after validation. If the CF information indicates that the environmental information has been adjusted, a revalidation may be appropriate.

[0092] For example, the information B serves alongside the count variable VC as an additional measure of the credibility / validity / plausibility of the environmental information or useful information M.

[0093] Information B allows the use of backend functionality for the connected vehicles, for example vehicles 200, 400 and 500, in heavy traffic, even if only one or a few vehicles have sufficient available online data bandwidth to connect to the backend.

[0094] The information P1 and P2, for example, allows for determining a relative position of the sensor used to generate the environmental information. Thus, the information P1 and P2 also allows for determining the relative position of the vehicles 200 and 400 to each other for validating the environmental information, taking the relative position into account, as already explained above.

[0095] Embodiments may further be or relate to a computer program having program code for performing one or more of the above methods when the computer program is executed on a computer or processor. Steps, operations, or processes of various methods described above may be performed by programmed computers or processors. Examples may also cover program storage devices, e.g., digital data storage media, that are machine-, processor-, or computer-readable and encode machine-executable, processor-executable, or computer-executable programs of instructions. The instructions perform or cause some or all of the steps of the above-described methods to be performed. The program storage devices may, for example,Digital storage devices may include or be magnetic storage media such as magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard disk drives, or optically readable digital data storage media. Further examples may also include computers, processors, or control units programmed to perform the steps of the methods described above, or (field) programmable logic arrays ((F)PLAs) or (field) programmable gate arrays ((F)PGAs) programmed to perform the steps of the methods described above.

[0096] Functions of various elements shown in the figures, as well as the designated functional blocks, may be implemented in the form of dedicated hardware, e.g., "a signal provider," "a signal processing unit," "a processor," "a controller," etc., as well as hardware capable of executing software in conjunction with associated software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some or all of which may be shared.However, the term "processor" or "controller" is by no means limited to hardware capable of executing software only, but can include digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage devices. Other hardware, conventional and / or custom, may also be included.

[0097] For example, a block diagram may represent a high-level circuit diagram implementing the principles of the disclosure. Similarly, a flowchart, a sequence diagram, a state transition diagram, pseudocode, and the like may represent various processes, operations, or steps, for example, substantially embodied in computer-readable medium and thus performed by a computer or processor, regardless of whether such a computer or processor is explicitly shown. Methods disclosed in the specification or claims may be implemented by a device having a means for performing each of the respective steps of these methods.

[0098] It should be understood that the disclosure of multiple steps, processes, operations, or functions disclosed in the description or claims should not be construed as being in that particular order unless explicitly or implicitly stated otherwise, e.g., for technical reasons. Therefore, the disclosure of multiple steps or functions does not limit them to a particular order unless those steps or functions are not interchangeable for technical reasons. Furthermore, in some examples, a single step, function, process, or operation may include and / or be broken down into multiple sub-steps, functions, processes, or operations. Such sub-steps may be included and be part of the disclosure of that single step unless explicitly excluded. List of reference symbols

[0099] 100 Method 110 Receiving environmental information 120 Validating the environmental information 130 Sending the environmental information with the reliability information 200 Vehicle 202 Message 210 Device 212 One or more interfaces 214 Data processing circuit 300 Method 310 Receiving environmental information 320 Sending the environmental information to at least one other vehicle 330 Receiving the reliability information from the other vehicle 400 Vehicle 402 Message 500 Vehicle 510 Object 512 Form 514 Form B Information about a validation by an external server / backend CF Information about a subsequent change to the payload ID Identifier M Payload P1 Information about a position of a sensor P2 Information about a position of one or more objects VC Counting variable

Claims

1. A method (100) for implementation in a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving (110) environmental information about an environment of the vehicle from another vehicle or from a traffic infrastructure; validating (120) the environmental information to generate reliability information about the environmental information, wherein validating comprises comparing the environmental information with sensor data from at least one sensor of the vehicle; receiving information about a sensor type of at least one sensor with which the environmental information from the other vehicle was determined, and further comprising selecting another sensor type on the basis of the information about the sensor type in order to compare the environmental information with the sensor data of the other sensor type; and transmitting (130) the environmental information with the reliability information.

2. The method (100) according to claim 1, wherein the environmental information comprises measurement data of the environment, interpreted measurement data and / or a user input.

3. The method (100) according to either of the preceding claims, wherein validating comprises validating the environmental information on the basis of a user input.

4. The method (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein receiving environmental information comprises receiving first reliability information about the environmental information from another vehicle, wherein validating the environmental information comprises generating second reliability information on the basis of the first reliability information, and wherein transmitting the environmental information with the reliability information comprises transmitting the second reliability information.

5. The method (100) according to any of the preceding claims, the method (300) comprising: sending (320) the environmental information to at least one other vehicle in order to validate the environmental information by the other vehicle and generate reliability information about the environmental information; and receiving (330) the reliability information from the other vehicle.

6. A computer program having a program code for implementing one of the methods (100, 300) according to any of claims 1 to 5 when the program code is executed on a computer, a processor, a data processing circuit, a control module, or a programmable hardware component.

7. A device (210, 410) for a vehicle (200, 400), the device (210, 410) comprising: one or more interfaces (212, 412) for communication; and a data processing circuit (214, 414) for implementing one of the methods (100, 300) 1 to 5.

8. A vehicle (200, 400) comprising the device (210, 410) according to claim 7.

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